Movie 236/1001 ~ Beverly Hills Cop

This is a 1984 movie starring Eddie Murphy and Judge Reinhold. The movie is about Axel Foley, a street-wise cop from Detroit, who travels to Beverly Hills to investigate the murder of his best friend. I enjoyed watching the movie but it clearly has little value beyond a not unpleasant way to pass time. How much can I really say about a movie when my favourite parts of it were the theme song and a man with the first name Judge?

**

Movie 235/1001 ~ Open City

Open City is a neorealist film made in Italy during 1945. The film follows the stories of one of the leader's of the resistance trying to evade fascist capture and a priest who is helping the resistance. The movie is quite engaging and I found that the time flew by while I watched it. The movie combines everything that I like about neorealism and adds an interesting plot, intriguing characters and a the correct amount of melodrama and suspense. The film itself rose from the rubble just months ofter the war was finished and enabled the actors to be truly compelling. This film is worth watching.

****1/2

Movie 234/1001 ~ The Rules of the Game

This classic 1939 film by Renoir is considered one of the greatest movies ever made. This film is about upper-class French society before World War II. The movie is centered around a pilot who returns from a trip across the Atlantic to discover that Christine, his lover, has married another man. Christine and her husband invite many people to their country home, including the pilot and the husband's mistress. Various romantic intrigues ensue. The film requires that the viewer pay attention. There is a great deal of dialogue and it can be difficult to follow the plot. The film makes great use of deep focus. This technique has allowed Orson Welles to gain fame, but he was probably inspired by Renoir. In this film, the actors in the background or foreground will subtly advance other plot points while the main action occurs. The film is a great inspiration to many film directors, notably Robert Altman. His film Gosford Park is clearly an homage of sorts to The Rules of the Game. Altman has stated that "The Rules of the Game has taught me the rules of the game."

****

Movie 233/1001 ~ Ghostbusters

This 1984 classic stars Dan Aykroyd, Bill Murray, and Harold Ramis as three out of work parapsychologists who decide to try and make a living as a ghost removal service. This comedy is considered one of the best comedies over made. The film features an excellent and popular theme song, numerous quotable lines, and an excellent cast. I enjoyed this movie, but by no means is this one of my favourite comedies.

***1/2

Fun Fact: There is some dispute over how many of Bill Murray's lines were scripted. Some claim the he hardly improvised at all and others claim that he improvised so much dialogue that he deserves a writing credit.

Movie 232/1001 ~ Deliverance

Made in 1972, this film is the tale of four men who decide to go on a canoe trip in the Georgia backcountry before they build a dam and destroy the river. The film stars Jon Voight and Burt Reynolds. What begins as a peaceful trip is soon ruined by a memorable scene in which two hillbillies accost and rape one of the members of the group at gunpoint. I can't say that I particularly enjoyed this movie as much as I was disturbed by it. The movie is well acted and is well shot, but it is difficult to declare this movie among my favourites. The main theme of the movie is a song titled Dueling Banjos which won a Grammy and is very recognizable. This film is also notable for none of the actors being insured in order to conserve, despite the numerous stunts the actors performed the movie. Notably, Voight scales a cliff and Reynolds broke his coccyx during a river sequence. Reference to this fact is made early in the film when Reynolds declares that he has never been insured.

***1/2

Movie 231/1001 ~ Spirited Away

Filmed in 2001, Spirited Away is a classic animated film directed by Hayao Mayazaki. Spirited Away won best animated feature in the 2002 Oscars ceremony. The film follows the young Chihiro, a little girl, who is moving with her parents. When her dad takes an ill-advised shortcut, they end up finding themselves at an abandoned amusement park, and the parents find a lot of food, whish they consume. The little girl explores the area and meets a boy who tells her that she must leave immediately before nightfall. When she gets back she finds that her parents have turned into pigs, there are spirits everywhere and she is starting to disappear. Like most anime follows the general reasoning and logic is sometimes hard to follow, but the movie is still fairly coherent. Additionally, the film has several scenes and characters which are simply too cute and interesting that they will certainly improve the rest of the movie for any viewer.

***1/2

Movie 230/1001 ~ Chinatown

Whew, it's been a little while since I saw this film but I liked what I saw. Chinatown was filmed in 1974 by Roman Polanski. It starred Jack Nicholson, Faye Dunaway and John Huston. The story revolves around private detective who is hired to investigate the chief engineer of the city's water department but the case turns sinister. The three main actors are amazing in this movie and it is one of the best detective stories that I have ever seen.

Fun Fact: J.J. Gittes (Nicholson) is in every single scene of the movie.

****1/2

Movie 229/1001 ~ Frankenstein

Frankenstein is a 1931 adaptation of the Mary Shelley novel of the same name. The movie is just over an hour and is fairly entertaining. There are a few common misconceptions about the movie. Firstly, I thought the name of the monster was frankenstein, but it isn't. Frankenstein is the name of the creator and NOT the monster. Furthermore, the hunchbacked assistant is NOT named Igor. I'm not sure exactly how these misconceptions came about, but it is intriguing nonetheless. I also like the narrator at the beginning of the film that warns the audience that they might find the film horrifying (it isn't). Basically, it was interesting, but ultimately, not very entertaining or horrifying for a modern audience.

Fun Fact: During the movie a little girl has a cat in her arms and she tells her dad to stay and play with her and the cat. Look at the cat. It is NOT happy at all.

***1/2

Movie 228/1001 ~ Blowup

Blowup is a 1966 English-Italian art film. The film has an unusual narrative structure. The movie follows a photographer as he pursues a number of objectives throughout the day including the seemingly innocuous photographing of a couple in the park. Only afterwards, when he brings the photos home and the woman from the photos follows him and demands the photographs does the plot thicken. This film is about the image and really is trying to question reality. If only a picture of something exists did it really happen? This motif is underlined when the main character is watching some mimes play tennis, and eventually we begin to hear the sounds of the imaginary ball and rackets and culminates in the character himself disappearing from the grassy field. I liked this movie. It is a slow plot development and is a little unusual, but I feel that the movie is quite interesting and very well shot. However, there are some extraneous and overly long sequences.



Fun Fact: This film helped destroy the MPAA Production Code. This film was controvertial because it has full frontal female nudity (gasp!) and MGM released it despite not getting approval from the MPAA.



****

Movie 227/1001 ~ Blazing Saddles

Blazing Saddles was directed in 1974 by Mel Brooks. The film is a parody of the western genre and stars Gene Wilder. I mildly despise hate Mel Brooks. People think he is funny, but he has the mental capacity of an infant isn't. He continually makes mediocre horrible parodies of any random genre and people think he is hilarious. He utilizes every lame gag with no discretion or hilarity. He isn't funny. As a comedy it is one of the most tragically unfunny pieces of trash that I have ever had the misfortunes of witnessing fails. My mouth twitched into a small portion of a smile once or twice. To be fair, I do like The Producers, one of the only Mel Brooks films that ISN'T a parody. This film, along with Young Frankenstein, High Anxiety, Spaceballs, and all of the rest, was horrible. He uses the same jokes in EVERY one of his garbage receptacles films. If I wanted to hear bad jokes, I would go to the music lounge or visit my family. I award this movie one half of a star and only because of the high frequency of the infamous 'N' word that made the movie more interesting and into something that vaguely approached palatability.

Fun Fact: This film also has the dubious amazing distinction of being the first film to show flatulence! Hurray! Thanks Mel!

1/2

Movie 226/1001 ~ Fantasia

The third feature animated film produced by Walt Disney, Fantasia was a commercial failure. The film itself is a series of animated featurettes with no dialogue that is choreographed to famous orchestral works. In my youth, I had seen some of these segments, but never the entire film. The movie made great breakthroughs in sound recording technology because Walt Disney was very unhappy with the quality of sound that contemporary systems could provide. The film, which is over two hours in length, was just too lengthy for many and ultimately, the film wouldn't become profitable until many decades later. It also ran into some trouble because of a black centaur that was performing menial tasks and due to the reductions of several of the pieces of music. Some morons critics even went so far as to complain that because the animation didn't correspond with the composers vision for the music, the entire movie was foolish. Today, there are only two animated features on the AFI top 100 films list, and they are Fantasia and Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs. I enjoyed this film, but really I think that it is too long for one sitting.

****

Fun Fact: This film was very popular in the sixties. Why? Teenagers would see the film after partaking in various narcotic substances such as LSD and marijuana. Try it at home!

Movie 225/1001 ~ Meet Me in St. Louis

This movie was made in 1945 and stars Judy Garland and Mary Astor and was directed by Vincente Minelli. The movie is a musical about a middle class family living in St. Louis. They have four daughters and a son. Judy Garland plays the second eldest daughter who is smitten with the neighbour next door. If you ever wanted to know who to thank/murder for creating the songs Clang Clang Goes the Trolley and Have Yourself a Merry Little Christmas, now you know who to thank. Both songs were written for the movie and have been tremendous hits ever since. I enjoyed this movie, but I didn't think it was spectacular. I don't really care for child acting from the time period and there was a lot of it. I believe it was supposed to look cute, but it just wasn't working for me. Mostly, it was well constructed and well acted, but it didn't go over that well for me.

Fun Fact: Judy Garland met Vincente Minelli while making this movie and the two teamed up and Liza Minelli was born a little while later.

***

Movie 224/1001 ~ Marty

Filmed in 1955, Marty is one of only two movies to win Best Picture at the Oscars and the prestigious Palme d'Or at the Cannes Film Festival. Marty is the story of a 34 year old Italian man who is constantly badgered about getting married and has resigned himself to the fate of bachelorhood. The film was a huge and unexpected success. Burt Lancaster has claimed that the film is superb in everyway and it was definitely a sleeper hit. Personally, I don't think the movie translates very well into a modern setting. There are FAR too many fifties-isms and behaviour that many would today find exceedingly inappropriate. Many serious parts of the movie actually end up somewhat amusing because the dialogue is ridiculous. Additionally, Marty's friends constant insults about his love intersest are ludicrous and almost unbelieveable. I liked parts of this movie, but not for reasons that were intended by the film maker.

***

Movie 223/1001 ~ Caravaggio

Filmed in 1986 by Derek Jarman, Caravaggio stars Nigel Terry, Sean Bean, and Tilda Swinton. The movie itself is a largely fictionalized retelling of the life of Caravaggio. This movie is moderately interesting to view, but it is very slowly paced and most of the interesting portions of the plot are largely fictionalized, such as the bisexual nature of the titular character. Furthermore, there are several props used throughout the movie that are not period at all. The film is purported to be set in the 1600s, yet we see some electric lights, a calculator, and an automobile at varying points of the movie. This made little sense at the time and frankly confused the hell out of me. This is apparently an art joke due to the fact that Caravaggio painted biblical portraits with 'modern' clothing styles, but I found the entire thing perplexing and repelling whilst I was watching the film.

**1/2

Movie 222/1001 ~ Close Encounters of the Third Kind

Filmed in 1977, Steven Spielberg directed this blockbuster starring Richard Dreyfuss. The film follows three main storylines. The first is of the various government and army officials pursuing the alien phenomena and trying to cover it up from the public. The second is of a woman who's son is abducted by aliens and the third is of Dreyfuss' character who sees UFOs while travelling in the countryside at night. The film was hugely successful and proved that Spielberg could continue to make hit movies after Jaws. Moreover, the film was one of the first movies to portray alien visitors as friendly and popularized the thin, grey look that many aliens are portrayed as. I enjoyed this movie, but didn't particularly care for it. It certainly didn't add any relevance to movie making and it really doesn't have anything to say. It is however, enjoyable to watch and is considered to be one of the 'classics' by most movie critics. Enjoyable, but don't go out of your way to see it.

**1/2

Movie 221/1001 ~ Platoon

In 1986, Platoon was directed by Oliver Stone and stars Charlie Sheen and Willem Dafoe. Charlie Sheen plays a new recruit who joins a platoon of men in the Vietnam war. There are many different types of men in the platoon, and as the film progresses, the line between right and wrong is blurred and Sheen struggles to discern the correct path for himself. I really like this movie. I believe it is the best Vietnam movie that I have watched thus far and easily my favourite Oliver Stone film. The movie has a certain moral ambiguity to it, but I was compelled by the character driven plot and action. The film was also very well shot and the accompaniment of the poignant Adagio for Strings throughout the film was an excellent touch.

****1/2

Movie 220/1001 ~ Chungking Express

Made in 1994 by Wong Kar Wai, Chungking Express is a film with two storylines, both involving police officers and romance. The first storyline is about a cop who has given himself a month to either get over his previous girlfriend or accept that the relationship has expired and a women who wears a blonde wig and has until the end of the month to fix a drug smuggling operation gone sour. At the end of this sequence the film abruptly begins a new storyline involving another cop who has broken up with his stewardess girlfriend and the woman who works at a cafe who has fallen in love with the man. Many viewers find the abrupt change in storylines confusing and repelling, but I actually kind of liked it. The film repeatedly plays two songs, What a Difference a Day Makes and California Dreamin,' and highlights recurring themes of the movie. I like these songs, so I approved heartily. The film also uses a number of self-indulgent filming techniques step printing slow motion which only movie buffs could recognize. Generally, I liked it and found it to be an enjoyable watch that is well-shot and produced.

***1/2

Movie 219/1001 ~ Ben-Hur

Made in 1959, Ben-Hur was an expensive gamble to try and save MGM from bankruptcy (it paid off). The film stars Moses as Judah Ben-Hur, a Jewish prince in Judea who is sent into Roman slavery, but eventually earns his freedom and returns for revenge. The film is set in the time of Jesus and the movie show several biblical scenes such as the birth of Christ, the sermon on the mount and the crucifixion. The film is set in an extremely large aspect ratio of almost 3:1. The film is better viewed in this manner and the differences between the 3:1 and a lesser (but better fitting the screen) ratio is most noticeable in the chariot race sequence. The chariot race sequence took months to complete and they had to bild an actual chariot racing stadium for the film. Moses had to learn to chariot race for the film. I enjoyed the film. The movie is quite long at around 3 hours and 15 minutes, but I found it entertaining and enjoyable. I'm not really a fan of Moses and I'm not usually a fan of religious movies which tend to be too pious and self-righteous, but I think this movie avoids the pitfalls that many films fall into deftly. Over-all, an enjoyable experience. The film is rumoured to have homoerotic undertones between Moses and his rival, but I'm not sold on that particular issue. The film one a whopping 11 Oscars, including Best Picture.

***1/2

Movie 218/1001 ~ American Graffiti

Made in 1973, American Graffiti is the tale of four men in one night in Modesto California, set in 1962. These four men are all leaving high school and are going to spend the last night of their lives with all four of each other's company before two of them travel to university the next morning. The film is directed by George Lucas and was a gigantic financial success in the box office. The film also stars Ron Howard, Richard Dreyfuss, Harrison Ford, and (briefly) Suzanne Somers. The film has no original score; the soundtrack is entirely comprised of time period musical hits. I enjoyed the movie, but I didn't really like it. Many people really enjoy this film and especially like how it captures the time period and uses many innovative lighting techniques, but I didn't find the movie that interesting. Sometimes, I wonder if this and other movies lose something on me because of the distance in time since it came out and the current date. Ebert said that it brought him back into his childhood and he loved it and it is ranked respectably on the AFI best movies list, but I can't say that I particularly enjoyed it.

***

Movie 217/1001 ~ The African Queen

Ok, now that the Oscars are over, it is back to the grind stone. The African Queen stars Humphrey Bogart and Katherine Hepburn. Set in WW1 Africa, Hepburn gets on board Bogart's boat after the village where she is being a missionary is burned to the ground by German troops. Determined to get even, she formulates a plan to strike a counterattack using Bogart's boat, the African Queen. There are manyh obstacles to overcome, including insects, malaria, leeches, and angry Germans. Bogart won his only Oscar for this film. I liked the movie, but didn't find it as spectacular as I was told it would be. I found the musical score to not work with the film in a way I found pleasing and I found Bogart's unusual accent used in the film mildly annoying.

***